LONDON  Relief that U.S. and European sanctions imposed in the wake of the Crimea referendum failed to touch on Russia's vital economic interests helped global stock markets power ahead on Monday, particularly in Moscow.

After the referendum in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, which saw overwhelming support for the idea of joining Russia, the U.S. imposed sanctions on seven Russian government officials as well as four Ukrainians, including former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The EU slapped travel bans and asset freezes on 21 people from Russia and Crimea. Those targeted are seen as having played key roles in what the U.S. and the EU consider to be an unlawful referendum.

The early response in financial markets suggests that most investors think the sanctions are fairly minimal and unlikely to trigger to a big response from Russia.

"So far the sanctions seem fairly toothless and much less severe than had been expected last week," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com. "From the market's perspective, the biggest risk was that the referendum would trigger tough sanctions against Russia that could lead to another Cold War."

That certainly appears to be the case in Moscow, where the main RTS index spiked 4.9 percent on Monday. Elsewhere in Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 1.4 percent at 6,568.35 while Germany's DAX rose 1.2 percent to 9,180.89. The CAC-40 in France ended 1.3 percent higher at 4,271.96.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.1 percent at 16,237 while the broader S&P 500 index rose 0.9 percent at 1,858.

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